Process for treating edible vegetable matter



Aug. 27, 1957 H. B. KAUBLE 2,804,390

PROCESS FOR TREATING EDIBLE VEGETABLE MATTER Filed Nov. 13, 1956 [4 v Hgjy A EV/J I33 WV I INVENTOR.

HOWAR D B. KAU BLE United States Patent F PROCESS FOR TREATING EDIBLEVEGETABLE MATTER Howard B. Kanble, Clyde, 011x10, assignor to The ClydeKraut Company, Clyde, Ohio, a corporation of ()hio Application November13, 1956, Serial No. 621,563

8 Claims. (Cl. 99-156) This invention relates to the treatment of ediblevegetable matter for conversion thereof from the natural state thereof,to a state of preservation thereof in wholesome condition. Specificallythe invention is concerned with the method or process for use inefiecting treatment and conditioning of such vegetable matter.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application,Serial Number 289,563, filed May 23, 1952, now abandoned.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple and effective methodor process for treating various vegetable matter of the character thatis adaptable to conversion and preservation by what is generally knownas a form of pickling accomplished essentially by means of salt that isadded to the vegetable matter. Examples of vegetables that are adaptableto pickling by means of the involved process are cabbage, cauliflower,cucumber or pickle, green beans, onions and the like. It is intendedthat other vegetable matter not ordinarily considered as within thecategory of vegetables; for example, water melon and other edible mattergenerally included within the broad classification of vegetable matter,are also within the scope of the instant invention.

The process is also applicable to natural fermentation procedures, forexample, wine making and other fruit and berry fermentations. The term.vegetable matter is accordingly intended to comprehend a fluid mass,such as expressed grape juice or the like, that is to be fermented. Theuse of a preservative such as salt, obviously would not be used in suchenvironment.

The following presentation, while directed to the making of sauerkraut,is for. the purpose of explanation and not for limitation either tospecific vegetable matter or method referred to in such explanation.

In the commercial manufacture or production of sauerkraut, it iscustomary or common to use large wooden vats or tanks. Such tanks are ofsize such that they will invariably extend through a floor of a buildingand rest upon a suitable foundation at the base of the vat. The tanks orvats are commonly of size approximating twenty (20) feet in diameter anda depth of ten (10) feet, more or less. In establishments that use suchtanks or vats for making sauerkraut, the wooden tanks are used for arelatively short period of time and during the remainder of the yearwhen the sauerkraut has been removed from the vats, the vats aremaintained substantially full of water in order to avoid drying out ofthe vats and consequent leaking which would probably be incapable ofrectification, short of complete reconstruction of such a vat.

When the vats are to be used for making sauerkraut, the vats are drainedand they are then very carefully cleaned, generally by means of wirebrushes. The very nature of commercial manufacture --of sauerkrautprecludes the use of other types of tanks or vats, particularly largemetal tanks, as will become more readily apparent from furtherexplanation.

Heretofore, the common practice in producing sauerkraut in such largetanks involved the placing of several 2,864,396 Patented Aug. 27, 1957tons of shredded or fractionalized cabbage with which proper amounts ofsalt had been intermixed or commingled, into such tanks. and the weightof the salt is carefully computed at the time the cabbage is shreddedand mixed with the salt and subsequently deposited into the tank. Thecommon practice is to provide a floor or ceiling of the building, atsuch relation to the upper edge of the tanks that ready access may behad to the tanks beneath the ceiling next above. The ceiling next aboveis generally provided with a series of removable doors or other closuremeans so that the tanks can be filled from the floor next above.Ordinarily, the shredded cabbage and salt are commingled in anappropriate conveyance movable upon the floor above the tanks andsubsequently the accumulated cabbage and salt is distributed in the tankby manual means; for example, workmen wearing sanitary garments andusing pitchforks and the like.

Heretofore, after a tank had been loaded with salted cabbage, and whichloading involves the filling of the tank approximately one or two feetfrom the upper edge of the tank, a large, disk-like member, generally ofwood and of a diameter slightly less than the inside diameter of thevat, is placed over the cabbage. Heavy concrete blocks, or in someinstances, natural stones of great weight, are loaded upon the woodendisk and serve to compress the kraut and salt.

Heretofore, the common practice has been to permit nature to take itscourse from the time that the cabbage is load-ed as related.

The heavy weights used to retain the cabbage under pressure arenecessary, because the cabbage would tend to float in the brine, notonly because of the differences in specific gravities of the brine juiceand the fresh shredded cabbage, but also because there immediatelydevelops in the salted cabbage, fermentation gases and air that wasentrained amongst the shreds of cabbage incident to loading of the vatand which gases would, in the absence of a restraining weight, cause thevegetable matter to float with a substantial portion thereof exposedabove the brine juice. Obviously, osmosis cannot occur in any cabbagewhich is exposed to the atmosphere by reason of loss of brine fluid orevaporation of the fluid from the brine and within which brine thecabbage should have been submerged, and the heavy weight imposed on thecabbage must be maintained in order to also avoid the accumulation ofgases within the mass of cabbage during the processing or converting ofthe cabbage into sauerkraut.

The practical problems encountered by reason of the factors previouslyrelated and explained herein, preclude the use of apparatus andequipment of the character disclosed in Harrison Patent No. 2,345,814,of April 4, 1944. While the Harrison patent explains that the atmosphereis to be excluded from the area above 'a mass of sauerkraut containedwithin a receptacle, and that suitable means may be employed formaintaining the shredded cabbage submerged in brine during treatment andstorage, the fact 1 is that large metal tanks of the size with which acommerical manufacturer of sauerkraut is concerned, are impractical andmoreover, the generalization of the Harrison patent to the efiect thatmeans for effecting submergence may be employed, fails to present apractical solution or practical apparatus.

An object of this invention is to provide a large, practical, open-toptank in which vegetable matter is to be processed and with which tank aflexible cover may be associated, the cover being impervious to air andwater but which is so associated or related to the tank and thecontentsof the tank, as will protect the contents of the tank from contaminationwith air, dirt, vermin, etc., but whereby the vegetable mass may beweighted down as required The weight of the cabbage and yetpermit theescape to the atmosphere of entrained air and such gases as developduring fermentation or the preservation process.

Another object of this invention isto provide a flexible air and waterimpervious cover for a processing tank that is capable of functioning toweight down the vegetable contents in the tank to prevent the same fromexpanding excessively, if at all, and as a check valve to allow gases toescape from the tank as they form in the vegetable matter, withoutpermitting air to enter the tank and the contents therein. a a

apertures throughout its length, whereby communication A still furtherobject of the invention is to provide 5 a cover of a type set forthabove which, when in place,

forms a container for water, sand or other weightingagent, whereby thequantity of the weighting agent can be adjusted to balance the pressurein the tank and the expansion force developed in the material beingprocessed, and also to form a check valve with the inside Wall of thetank through which gases. can escape to the atmosphere.

Other objects. and advantages of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in this art from the following between the mass of materialwithin the tank and the interior of the passageway may be efliected.Such duct or channel is provided in order that sampling ofthe brine maybe made at various depths of the cabbage mass.

.Theupper end of the sampling channel or duct should be disposed asuflicient distance below the upper edge of the tank so that theflexible cover will extend over the description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which: 7,

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a tank provided with one form ofcover and suitable assembly of apparatus embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to Figure 1 and including a differenttype of cover element of the invention.

Fig. 4 is an arcuate segment of a circular cover and provided withspaced grommets whereby the peripheral edge of the cover may be retainedin relatively fixed relation to the upper edge of the tank.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental view showing a tank provided with suitableeyelets or retaining members for cooperation with the grommets of acover shown in Fig. 4.

In accordance with this invention, the vegetable to be processed; forexample, chopped or shredded cabbage which is to be converted intosauerkraut, is placed in an open tank generally constructed of woodenstaves and encircling hoops or the like. Thetanks for the commercialproduction of sauerkraut are approximately eight to ten feet high andvary from twelve to approximately twenty feet inside diameter. Suchlarge tanks hold approximately forty five thousand pounds or more ofprepared cabbage. A batch of prepared cabbage is packed in the tank to adepth within one .or two feet from the top thereof. The tank is thencovered with a flexible air and water impervious cover. The cover isformed from a thin sheet of material such as transparent pliableplastic, rubber or other suitable composition.

The cover is of a diameter sufliciently in excess of the 7 diameter ofthe tank, to permit the portion of the cover disposed immediately beyondthe central portion of the cover that rests upon the kraut, to projectupwardly so as to provide an upstanding Wall of such cover materialwhich engages the inside surface of the tank disposed above the cabbageand extending to the upper edge of the tank. The circumferential edge ofthe cover member.

'means may be resorted to for maintaining the upright or upstanding wallarrangement of the peripheral portion of the cover. 1

The weighting material is introduced into the recess provided above thecentral portion of the cover, and may be of any suitable type orcharacter which has suflic ient fluidity or mobility'together withadequate weight, to-- assure that the upstanding-wall portions of thecover will be firmly pressed and held against the adjacentinner surupperend of the sampling duct.

IniFigure l, a suitable foundation 10, forming part of thebuildingconstruction, supports the lower end of the tank 11. The tank 11comprises the vertical wall 12 which may consist ofa series of heavyWooden staves and an appropriate bottom 13, fitted to the lower ends ofthe staves or vertical wall 12 0f the tank. Suitable encircling hoops 14are employed for retaining the tank elements in assembled formation. Byreason of the size of the tanks, same are shown as extending through thefloor lSof an appropriate building. The upper edges of the tanks areordinarily disposed at a height of about three or four feet above thefloor 15. Ready access to the upper portion of the tank and'to theinterior of the tank is therefore accomplished from the level of thefloor 15. At whatapproximates ordinary room height, a suitable floor,not shown, extends above the tanks and in such upper floor, suitabletrap doors or the like are provided through which the commingled saltand cabbage may be discharged from suitable tractionally supportedconveyances. Ordinarily one trap door is provided above each of thetanks and through which each of the tanks is filled with cabbage etc..The shredding operation is performed by apparatus, not shown, inaccordance with customary procedure, such shredding apparatus beingadapted to discharge the shredded cabbage into the tractionallysupported conveyances alluded to, and which are utilized in accordancewith the customary practice of weighing the shredded cabbage andapplying the salt to the cabbage while in such conveyance, whereupon,the cabbage is discharged through a trap door into a tank. The samplingchannel or duct 16, provided within the tank, may be provided by meansof a pair of boards or planks 17 and 18,which areisecured upon oneanother on one of their longer edges and maybe secured at theirotherlongitu dinal edges to the inside wall of the tank, in any suitablemanner preferably arranged so that they may be readily removed forcleaning the interior of the tank and the interior of the board membersproviding the duct 16. The upper ends of theboards 17 and 18 aredisposed one or two feet'beneath the upper edge 19 of the tank.

After a massof cabbage and salt, indicated at 20, has

. been compiled in the tank 11, and which mass is of a volume such thatit will readily compress so as to have theupper surface 21 thereofdisposed about one or two feet beneath'th'e' upper edge 19 of the tank11,.a flexible I tained in contact upon the cabbage mass, whereas theportion ofthecov'er extending beyond -the central, disklike portionthereof, is developed into an upstanding, cylindrical wall 24. The wall24, if formingvpart of a flat cover member, will necessarily include anumber of folds in the cover material; however, by reason of theflexible nature and character of the cover material, the folds will befirmly pressed outwardly by reason of the weight of the water 25received in the upwardly opening recess 26 formed above the cover andbetween the upstanding wall 24 of the cover when positioned over a tankas shown in Figure 1.

The peripheral edge 27 of the cover may be secured against the outersurface or wall 28 of the tank by any suitable means; for example, acord 29.v The purpose of providing a retaining element such as the cord29 is primarily to preclude accidental displacement of the peripheraledge of the cover, centerward of the vertical wall of the tank and whichcould result in escape of the weighting substance between the inner faceof the tank wall and the adjacent face of the upstanding wall portion 24of the cover member. If the indicated relationship of the upstandingwall section of the cover should be impaired, there might becontamination of the cabbage or sauerkraut by some of the water escapingfrom the recess 26 to the upper layer of the cabbage mass in the tank.One of the practical phases of the situation is that as workmen moveabout on the floor 15, they might accidentally disturb the peripheraledge of a cover unless it is adequately secured or anchored.

By reason of the nature of the flexible cover and the fact that it maybe readily moved to permit access to the sampling duct 16,notwithstanding the fact that during the major portion of thefermentation process, the upper end of the duct is sealed, it ispossible to readily obtain samples of brine from various levels of thecabbage mass in the tank while substantiallyprecluding appreciable aircontamination of the mass incident to the introduction of a suitablesampling hose intermediate the upstanding wall 24 of the cover incidentto projection of such sampling hose into the sampling channel or duct16.

in Fig. 3, a modified form of'cover is shown, wherein p the coverelement comprises a circular, central disk portion 31 and to theperipheral edge of which is applied a cylindrical section 32 of similarflexible material. The cylindrical portion 32 may be welded or securedto the disk portion 31 by any suitable means or process for providing apositive sealed connection between the cylindrical portion 32 and thecenter of the composite cover comprising the parts 31 and 32. The upperend of the upstanding vertical wall portion of the cover 32 may in turn,be provided with a suitable extension that may be projected over theupper end of the tankin the manner shown in Fig. 1, or if desired, theupper end of the cover section 32 may be turned inwardly in order toprovide an air cell 33. If such air cell arrangement is employed, asuitable valve 34 may be provided for introducing air or some gas intothe air cell so that upon introduction of the weighting material 25, forexample, water, into the recess or compartment formed above the diskportion 31 and centerward of the cylindrical, vertical portion 32 of thecomposite cover, it will serve to retain the upper end of the coverelevated and so provide an upstanding Wall of thecover, and yet precludeescape of the water from the recess in the top of the cover and into thecabbage mass.

in Fig. 4 there is shown a fragment of a flat cover 41, provided withgrommets 42 and through which retaining means such as a cord 43, maypass and whereby such cords may be used for connecting the peripheraledge to eyelets 44 that may be attached upon the inner face or" the tankwall, as shown at Fig. 5. Obviously, the eyelets 44 may be secured atthe upper edge of the tank, either upon the upper edge 45 or upon theouter surface 46 of the tank. An alternate form of attachment meansadapted for cooperation with such grommets 42, would be the provision ofa plurality of hooks 47 which could be mounted in an appropriate mannernear some part of the neath the cover. Rubberized fabric is anappropriate upper edge of the tank wall, and one of which is showninFig. 5 as being mounted upon the outer face 46 of the tank. Obviously,under such an arrangement the cover must be of suflicient size thatbeyond the upper edge of the upstanding wall 48 of the cover, thereshall be suflicient material to extend over the upper edge 45 of thetank and permit the hook 47 to receive the grommets 42 of the cover. a

The cover may be made of any suitable flexible plastic or rubbermaterial. If it is plastic, it is preferred that the plastic betransparent so that the contents of the tank can be seen through it. Aplastic substance of the character referred to may be vinyl plastic. Thejoinder of a vertical Wall portion such as shown at 32, to a centraldisc portion 31, may be effected either by means of a suitable cement orby any appropriate method or substance that will effect the desiredunification of the two parts in a sealed relationship that will precludeany seepage between opposite sides of the composite cover. If theplastic material is of a character such that a joinder may be effectedby means of heat, thus providing a welded joint which would be aneffective seal of the character indicated, that would be another way ofjoining a flat, disk-like center portion of the cover to the upstandingwall portion of such cover. The plastic substance should be such that itcan be made sufficiently thin or sheet-like so that it will readily flexand conform, including some degree of stretching if necessary, in orderthat the weight of the water or other weighting substance will cause theupstanding portion of the cover to enter any crevices that might existin the adjacent, inner wall area of the tank and with which the cover isto make an effective seal. The seal is intended to preclude entry of anyforeign matter or gas into the cabbage mass, yet being such that thegases that develop within the cabbage mass, as Well as any air that wasentrained in the cabbage at the time of loading of the tank, may escapebetween the tank wall and the cover by reason of the pressure exertedupon the cabbage mass and the fluid about the mass.

In the arrangements exemplified in Fig. 1, wherein the water 25 does notcompletely fill the recess 26, the escaping gases, particularly carbondioxide, would pass above the level of the water and provide a smallpocket of carbon dioxide gas at the area indicated generally at 50, anddisposed between the inner surface of the tank wall and the adjacentportion of the upstanding wall 24 of the cover. That gas, if placedunder suflicient pressure and under varying conditions, would be andshould be displaced so as to pass over the upper edge 19 of the tank andthen fall downwardly along the outer surface of the tank. It is notintended that the cord or other retaining means exemplified at 29,should provide a seal against the escape of gases after they have passedover and beyond the upper edge 19 of the tank. Such carbon dioxidepocket, which might develop in the area indicated at 50, and which wouldencircle theinner wall of the tank above the upper surface of the massof water 25, would provide an area devoid of oxygen and to that extentwould provide an area in which micro organisms that require oxygen,could not survive.

The explanation referring to a cover of vinyl plastic type, is. merelyexemplary, it being appropriate to use various other types of covermaterial that are impervious to water intended to repose upon thecentral portion thereof, and to also be impervious to brine and beingnonreactant to the substance confined in the tank and besheetingmaterial that is adapted for such cover purposes.

Cabbage which is Weighted down and sealed from the air as abovedescribed, will be in as good condition at the very top layers thereofas at any other points in the total depth of the batch. Since the toplayers of the batch cannot come in contact with air, there is nospoilage. It has been found in practice that a batch of 45,000

, 7 pounds of cabbage processed by weighting down with a. flexible.cover: which servesv also. asa check :valve.. while. the cabbage.is.undergoing its. chemical change, will give 100% yield: of sauerkraut.In other words, the process makes it. possible to. prevent loss of up toabout of cabbage per batch. of 45,000 pounds. In addition to that, thefinished product is uniform throughout and of much better quality thansauerkraut produced by the prior art methods.

The Water in space 26 not only acts to: weight down the. cabbage but.also forces the cover against the inside surface of the tank withsufficient pressure to. form with the inside surface of the tank, acheck valve. As. gases. form in the tank they rise to. the top of tank11 and escape; between the cover and the tank wall and then downwardlypast the. drawstring to the atmosphere. If the water does. not providesufficient weight to balance the expansion forces developed in thecabbage or other material being processed, sand or other heavy weightingagents. may be used, either alone or with Water.

The cover may be referred to as a floating cover since it. is. adaptedto rise andv fall with. the mass disposed beneathit. It is preferablethat the central disk portion of the cover be of a diameter slightly inexcess of the internal diameter of the tank, particularly in those typesof covers. wherein a vertical wall section is attached to a flat, centerdisk portion; for example, as shown in Fig. 3. That is to.v assure aneffective seal being provided around the perimeter of the central,disk-like portion of such composite.- cover.

The provision. of what may be termed a measure of fullness or surplusageof: the cover element at the approximate. peripheral: area of thecentral, disk-like por tion of the. cover, an illustration of whichappears superfluous in the drawings, not only assures a seal at theupper edge of the cabbage mass, but also affords adaptation of the.cover, to slight movements of the cover with the cabbage mass as the.mass may expand or contract slightly for any of various causes, withoutimpairing the essential seal at the upper edge of the cabbage mass. Thatseal, however, does not preclude exhausting of gases and entrained air,because the weighted mass supported on the cover functions to expressthe gas orair, so that at all times, the cabbage mass is confined withinwhat may be termed a closed chamber or compartment, and: which closedchamber is completely filled by the cabbage and brine juice togetherwith any occluded gases that may exist and be retained in the mass ofcabbage and juice. On the other hand, any free gas; for example, carbondioxide, is promptly exhausted from the closed chamber without modifyingthe closed condition of the chamberin that same is closed against theatmosphere and it is completely filled at all times with only thecabbage and brine juice, and the cabbage and the brine juice are at alltimes, under the effect of pressure imposed thereon by the cover and theweighting'mass supported by the central disk-like portion of the cover,the upstanding wall of 'the cover and the supporting tank walldisposedabove the mass of cabbage and brine juice.

To the extent that there may be slight expansion and contracting: of thecompacted mass of vegetable matter and juice for any oneof' variousreasons including tem-- perature variations, the referred to fullnessor, surplus.- age ofthe cover at the outer edge of the. central,disklike portion of the cover, permits the central, disk-like portion ofthe cover to float on and move withthe compacted mass, withoutdisturbing the closed chamber established within the tankportioncontaining the compacted mass of vegetable matter, and such floating ofa portion of the cover will not impair the seal formed by the upstandingwall portion of the cover upon the adjacent upstanding wall portion ofthe tank.. To the extent h the o r m r ar eu e 29m sever pie s asessaoof flexible: material; any seams 51 in .the cover and particularly in;the; upstanding. wall section as illustrated in, Big. 3;..are to: sointegrate the material, for example, by welding,-or solvent,. etc.,that, the; cover is impervious at such seams;. as; is; the materialitself impervious .to the substances to.- which the cover is exposed-As. stated,.the covers illustrated are. circular and ordinarily wouldbe. madein this: form because tanks as a rule are round. However iftanksare other than round, in transverse section, the shape of the coverwould be modified to suit the shape of the tanks.

Some vegetable matter .is not customarily shredded or chopped as iscabbage. For example, cucumbers, Water melon rind, etc., may be slicedor cut in cubical form generally referred to as diced. Accordingly theuse of such terms. as shredded or chopped, is to be understood asindicating fractionalizing. However, to. the

extent that cucumbers, particularly small pickles may be processedwhole, the terms such as fractionalized, etc.,

are intended: to. mean: that the vegetable matter, whether whole or cutinto pieces, are to be of such size that they will readily fill a tankor closed chamber, that osmosis will serve to. effect conversion andpreservation, and that the juice derived from the process shall permeatethe vegetable mass. In any event, the mass of substance being-processeddoessubstantially fill the closed chamand changes may bemade intheillustrated and described embodiments thereof without departing fromeither the spirit or the scope of the invention.

Therefore, what is claimed and now desired to be secured by LettersPatent is:

1. The process of curing edible vegetable matter in an open top tankwhich consists in filling the tank to ap proximately the top thereofwith the vegetable matter, placing afl'exible' plastic water, gas andair impervious sheetacross the top of the tank, the sheet having suchdimensions that when the marginal edge thereof is secured against theoutside wall of the tank the central portion has sufiici'ent slack torest on thevegetable matter and be engaged at the margin with, theinside wall of the tank, drawing the outside marginal edge of the sheetagainst the outside wal'l' of the tank so as to permit escape of gasesfrom within the tank, and applying to the space onflle slack portion aflowable weighting agent which compresses thevegetable matter and forcesthe margin of the central portion against the in side walls oft-he tankto form. a relief valve through which gases formediin the vegetablematter escape while checking the flow of' air from the atmosphere .intothe vegetable matter in the'tank.

2; The process of curing cabbage in an open top tank that consists infilling the tank to approximately the 'top thereof withth'e cabbage,placing a flexible plastic water, gas andair impervious sheet across thetop of the'tank, the, sheet having such dimensions that when themarginal edge thereof is secured against the outside wall of the tankthe central portion has sufficient slack to rest on the cabbage, and beengaged. at the margin with the inside wall of the tank, drawing. theoutside marginal edge of the sheet against the outside wall of the tankwas to permit escape of gases from within the tank, and applying-to.thespace on. the slackportion a flowable weighting agentwhich compressesthe cabbage and forces the margingfthe central por ion. aga nst the.inside wall of the tank to form a relief valve through which gasesformed in the cabbage escape while checking the flow of air from theatmosphere into the cabbage in the tank.

3. The process of converting edible natural state vegetable matter intoa preserved edible condition, consisting of commingling a mass ofvegetable matter with a curing and preservative substance of the classof sodium chloride, thereby providing a juice permeating said mass,confining the commingled mass and juice in a closed chamber having arelatively rigid bottom and side wall and a relatively thin, water, gasand air impervious flexible cover wall having a central portion and aperipheral, marginal portion, with the central portion of the flexibleWall in contact upon the commingled mass and juice, the rigid wallportion of the closed chamber having an upstanding portion extendingaway from and above the closed chamber, extending the peripheral,marginal portion of the cover wall along and adjacent said rigidupstanding wall portion disposed above said closed chamber, imposing amobile weighted mass on the central portion of the flexible wall memberand against the peripheral portion thereof, which mobile weighted masscompresses the said vegetable matter and juice to completely fill saidclosed chamber with vegetable matter and juice, and forces the marginalportion of the flexible wall member against the adjacent upstandingportion of said rigid Wall to form a relief valve through whichnonoccluded gas in the vegetable mass escapes while checking theunintentional movement of matter from the atmosphere into the vegetablemass in the closed chamber.

4. The process of claim 3 characterized by applying restraint againstmovement of the peripheral portion of the flexible wall member fromrelief valve forming relationship with the adjacent upstanding portionof the closed chamber.

5. The method of converting edible vegetable matter from its naturalstate to a converted edible state and for preserving same in suchconverted state, that consists of introducing a commingled mass of suchvegetable matter and an edible preservative of the character of sodiumchloride, into an open topped tank to a level substantially beneath theopening at the top of the tank, placing over and in contact upon themass of vegetable matter, a flexible cover of awater, gas and airimpervious material and of an overall size adequate for its centralportion to completely cover the top level of the vegetable mass and forits continuation beyond said center portion to extend upwardly along andadjacent the inside wall portion of the tank extending upwardly abovethe top level of the vegetable mass in the tank, to a distanceapproximating the open top of the tank, loading upon the cover portiondisposed on the vegetable mass, a weighting substance having mobilityadequate to conform with the upper surface of the central portion of thecover and of a quantity adequate to extend upwardly along thecontinuation portion of the cover against the adjacent inside wall ofthe tank, whereby to confine the commingled mass of matter and juicesderiving therefrom, in a closed chamber defined at its top by the cover,and whereby to so retain the continuation of the cover in upstandingwall position against the adjacent tank wall to form a relief valvebetween the tank wall and the upstanding wall of the cover, the reliefvalve functioning for escape of any free and non-occluded gasesoriginating from the commingled mass, while said valve preventsunintentional entry of foreign matter into the closed chamber filledwith said commingled mass and its enveloping juice, and restraining thecontinuation portion of the cover from movement from its upstanding wallposition to confine the weighting substance along its bottom and lateralsurface by the adjacent faces of the cover member central 7 portion andupstanding wall portion.

6. The process of converting edible natural state vegetable matter intoa preserved edible condition, consisting of commingling a mass ofvegetable matter in an 10 open topped tank, providing a juice mass aboutsaid vegetable mass by confining the vegetable matter and juice in acompacted mass in a closed chamber having a relatively rigid bottom andside wall and a relatively thin, water, gas and air impervious flexiblecover wall having a central portion and a peripheral, marginal portion,with the central portion of the flexible wall in contact upon thecompacted mass, the rigid wall portion of the closed chamber having anupstanding portion extending away from and above the closed chamber,extending the peripheral, marginal portion of the cover wall along andadjacent said rigid upstanding wall portion disposed above said closedchamber, imposing a mobile weighted mass on the central portion of theflexible wall member and against the peripheral portion thereof, whichmobile ,weighted mass compresses the said vegetable matter and juice tocompletely fill said closed chamber with vegetable -matter and juice,and forces the marginal portion of the flexible wa'll member against theadjacent upstanding portion of said rigid wall to form a relief valvethrough which non-occluded gas in the compacted mass escapes whilechecking the unintentional movement of matter from the atmosphere intothe compacted mass in the closed chamber.

7. The process of curing edible vegetable matter in an open top tankwhich consists in filling the tank to approximately the top thereof withvegetable matter, placing a water, gas and 'air impervious flexiblesheet across the top of the tank, the sheet having such dimensions thatwhen the marginal edge thereof is secured at the upper edge of the tank,the central portion has sufficient slack to rest on the vegetable matterand be engaged at the margin with the inside wall of the tank, securingthe sheet adjacent the upper edge of the tank so as to permit escape ofgases from within the tank, and applying to the space on the slackportion a flowable weighting agent which compresses the vegetable matterand forces the margin of the central portion of the flexible sheetagainst the inside wall of the tank to form a relief valve through whichgases formed in the vegetable matter escape while checking the flow ofair from the atmosphere into the vegetable matter in the tank.

8. The method of converting edible vegetable matter from its naturalstate to a converted edible state and for preserving same in suchconverted state, that consists of introducing a commingled mass of suchvegetable matter and an edible preservative, into an open topped tank toa level substantially beneath the opening at the top of the tank,placing over and in contact upon the mass of vegetable matter, aflexible cover of a water, gas and air impervious material and of anoverall size adequate for its central portion to completely cover thetop level of the vegetable mass and for its continuation beyond saidcenter portion to extend upwardly along and adjacent the inside wallportion of the tank extending upwardly above the top level of thevegetable mass in the tank, to a distance approximating the open top ofthe tank, loading upon the cover portion disposed on the vegetable mass,a weighting substance having mobility adequate to conform with the uppersurface of the central portion of the cover and of a quantity adequateto extend upwardly along the continuation portion of the cover againstthe adjacent inside wall of the tank, whereby to confine thecommingledmass of matter and juices deriving therefrom, in a closed chamberdefined at its top by the cover, and whereby to so retain thecontinuation of the cover in upstanding wall position against theadjacent tank wall to form a relief valve between the tank wall and theupstanding wall of the cover, the relief valve functioning for escape ofany :free and non-occluded gases originating from the commingled mass,while said valve prevents unintentional entry of foreign matter into theclosed chamber filled with said commingled mass and its envelopingjuice, and restraining the continuation portion of the cover frommovement from its upstanding

1. THE METHOD OF CURING EDIBLE VEGATABLE MATTER IN AN OPEN TOP TANKWHICH CONSISTS IN FILLING THE TANK TO APPROXIMATELY THE TOP THEREOF WITHTHE VEGATABLE MATTER, PLACING A FLEXIBLE PLASTIC WATER, GAS AND AIRIMPERVIOUS SHEET ACROSS THE TOP OF THE TANK, THE SHEET HAVING SUCHDIMENSIONS THAT WHEN THE MARGINAL EDGE THEREOF IS SECURED AGAINST THEOUTSIDE WALL OF THE TANK THE CENTRAL PORTION HAS SUFFICIENT SLACK TOREST ON THE VEGETABLE MATTER AND BE ENGAGED AT THE MARGIN WITH THEINSIDE WALL OF THE TANK, DRAWING THE OUTSIDE MARGINAL EDGE OF THE SHEETAGAINST THE OUTSIDE WALL OF THE TANK SO AS TO PERMIT ASCAPE OF GAS FROMWITHIN THE TANK, AND APPLYING TO THE SPACE ON THE SLACK PORTION AFLOWABLE WEIGHTING AGENT WHICH COMPRESSES THE VEGETABLE MATTER ANDFORCES THE MARGIN OF THE CENTRAL PORTION AGAINST THE INSIDE WALLS OF THETANK TO FORM A RELIEF VALVE THROUGH WHICH GASES FORMED IN THE VEGETABLEMATTER ESCAPE WHILE CHECKING THE FLOW OF AIR FROM THE ATMOSPHERE INTOTHE VEGETABLE MATTER IN THE TANK.